Student-Centered Learning Opportunities For Adolescent English Learners In Flipped Classrooms

This study documents opportunities for diverse adolescent English learners to deeply engage with content and language in flipped learning environments. Through a linked description of teaching practices and student learning experiences in an urban New England high school, the study attempts to understand the potential of flipped instruction in preparing a traditionally underserved population for post-secondary education. Our research partner Patriot High School (PHS) is one of the New England schools implementing flipped learning. PHS represents a typical secondary school context for adolescent English learners: More than half of students speak a language other than English at home and the majority of students are from minority and low-income homes (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2014). PHS is also an urban school committed to implementing student-centered learning strategies to meet the needs of its diverse students

English as a Second Language Teachers\u27 Lived Experience of Transitioning from Remote Learning to the Traditional Classroom Setting: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the experiences of ESL teachers who transitioned from remote learning back to the traditional classroom setting post-Covid at community colleges in upstate New York. The theory that will be guiding and directing this study will be the constructivist theory. The focus will be on understanding how English as a second language teachers adapt from the distance learning setting implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic back to the brick-and-mortar classroom. In addition, the study will attempt to understand how the behavior of ESL teachers is reflected in the changing teaching environment. The constructivist theory of learning was developed by the educational theorist Jean Piaget and relates to the study in that, according to constructivists, a teacher should ensure online instruction includes activities where students can contextualize information and engage with the learners while completing online tasks. The central research question seeks to describe the lived experiences of ESL teachers when transitioning from remote learning to the traditional classroom. This study will employ a transcendental phenomenological approach and use individual interviews, a focus group, and journal prompts to gather data to address the research questions. Data will be analyzed utilizing Moustakas’ (1994) phenomenological reduction with horizontalization in order to develop themes to represent the essence of the phenomenon. Three major themes emerged from the study: Challenges in Transitioning to the Online Environment, Improved Learning and Teaching Skills, and Challenges in Returning to Traditional Learning. Significant findings indicated that the online learning environment had influenced pedagogical strategies, with notable elements potentially enriching face-to-face instruction upon transition

Flipping the English grammar classroom: a pedagogical experiment for undergraduate students

Grammar is a key component of any language teaching curriculum, whether it ascribes to structural or to communicative approaches (Ur 2012). Although the attention devoted to grammar has decreased in the latter models ‒mainly because other components have gained relevance‒, students continue to dread grammar lessons. These are infamous for being long and boring, since they typically consist of a lecture from the teacher and are followed by some drill-type activity (Larsen-Freeman 2001). Despite the myriad of pedagogical innovations today, this continues to be the state of affairs in grammar teaching, more so at university level. Indeed, the role of the lecture in undergraduate teaching seems to be irreplaceable, or almost so (Reidsema et al. 2017). The flipped classroom is an educational model that is gaining ground today by challenging the basis of this type of presentation (Kvashnina and Martynko 2016). It provides students with a blended learning experience that affects both the medium and the temporality of teaching, since flipped classrooms often present a combination of asynchronous online learning and synchronous face-to-face lessons (Reidsema et al. 2017). However, the model is best characterised by the way the contents are presented and practiced. Whereas lecturing is the central activity in a traditional classroom and practice is assigned as homework, a flipped classroom does exactly the opposite (Bergmann and Sams 2012). In moving the “information-transmission teaching out of [the grammar] class” (Abeysekera and Dawson 2014: 4), the flipped model enables students to become active and independent in their learning process (Bergmann and Sams 2012: 16). If applied to the grammar lesson, a flipped classroom has the potential of involving students in the contents they are learning and of making this learning more significant (Abeysekera and Dawson 2014).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Agency Among Linguistically Diverse Students: A Comparative Study of Adolescent English Language Learners in Chile and the United States

It is projected that there will be 1.9 billion English learners in the world by 2020. Research has also shown that there will be at least one English learner in every classroom by the year 2025. As English language learners continue to grow all across the world, so does the need for well-informed teachers who look at the holistic learning of linguistically diverse students. Adolescent students who are seeking to learn another language, need support in using language in a way that will grow their understanding of themselves and the world around them. Ideas from renowned theorists such as Lev Vygotsky and van Lier, and authors such as Zaretta Hammond and Sonia Nieto will be researched to see cause-effect relationships, strategies, and influences relating to second language acquisition in the classroom. Using the aforementioned works, I will compare and contrast the profound influence teachers have on adolescent English learners in two different socio-political contexts: an English classroom in a suburb in Santiago, Chile and an ESL classroom in a suburb in Ohio. This study will determine how social emotional techniques form the basis of increasing student agency. I will collect data by observing and interviewing faculty and students to determine students’ sense of agency. With respect to increasing agency in second language acquisition, differences in social-emotional affordances and/or barriers that students face in their respective countries will be examined to determine if they are attributed to one’s sociopolitical context. Similarities in social-emotional affordances and/or barriers will be examined to see if they can be attributed to classroom technique that transcends the confines of sociopolitical contexts in the United States and Chile. The basis of this thesis is building a global community and discerning strengths in two different classrooms

Trialing project-based learning in a new EAP ESP course: A collaborative reflective practice of three college English teachers

Currently in many Chinese universities, the traditional College English course is facing the risk of being ‘marginalized’, replaced or even removed, and many hours previously allocated to the course are now being taken by EAP or ESP. At X University in northern China, a curriculum reform as such is taking place, as a result of which a new course has been created called ‘xue ke’ English. Despite the fact that ‘xue ke’ means subject literally, the course designer has made it clear that subject content is not the target, nor is the course the same as EAP or ESP. This curriculum initiative, while possibly having been justified with a rationale of some kind (e.g. to meet with changing social and/or academic needs of students and/or institutions), this is posing a great challenge for, as well as considerable pressure on, a number of College English teachers who have taught this single course for almost their entire teaching career. In such a context, three teachers formed a peer support group in Semester One this year, to work collaboratively co-tackling the challenge, and they chose Project-Based Learning (PBL) for the new course. This presentation will report on the implementation of this project, including the overall designing, operational procedure, and the teachers’ reflections. Based on discussion, pre-agreement was reached on the purpose and manner of collaboration as offering peer support for more effective teaching and learning and fulfilling and pleasant professional development. A WeChat group was set up as the chief platform for messaging, idea-sharing, and resource-exchanging. Physical meetings were supplementary, with sound agenda but flexible time, and venues. Mosoteach cloud class (lan mo yun ban ke) was established as a tool for virtual learning, employed both in and after class. Discussions were held at the beginning of the semester which determined only brief outlines for PBL implementation and allowed space for everyone to autonomously explore in their own way. Constant further discussions followed, which generated a great deal of opportunities for peer learning and lesson plan modifications. A reflective journal, in a greater or lesser detailed manner, was also kept by each teacher to record the journey of the collaboration. At the end of the semester, it was commonly recognized that, although challenges existed, the collaboration was overall a success and they were all willing to continue with it and endeavor to refine it to be a more professional and productive approach

A Flipped Classroom Redesign in General Chemistry

The flipped classroom continues to attract significant attention in higher education. Building upon our recent parallel controlled study of the flipped classroom in a second-term general chemistry course (J. Chem. Educ., 2016, 93, 13–23), here we report on a redesign of the flipped course aimed at scaling up total enrollment while keeping discussion sizes small (i.e.,students), and maintaining equivalent contact hour load for faculty and workload for students. To that end, the course format featured lecture contact pushed outside of the classroom in the form of video lectures (mean duration 13 minutes) paired with online homework sets, and three parallel weekly one-hour discussion sections were held in adjoining lab rooms immediately prior to the three-hour laboratory session. As in our previous design, the discussion sections were led by teaching assistants; however, the weekly discussion meeting was shortened from 75 minutes to 50 minutes, and the primary instructor “floated” between the three parallel sessions. Two such sessions were held each week, affording a possible enrollment of 144; initial enrollment was 141, with students self-selecting into the course. We examine student performance in and satisfaction with the course using: (1) a pre-test/post-test design based on the paired questions American Chemical Society (ACS) first-term and second-term exams, (2) data on DFW (D, F, withdrawal) rates, and (3) student evaluations

FLIPPED LEARNING IN ELT: EXPERIENCES FROM OMAN

Background and Purpose: Recently, flipped learning has become prevalent as a teaching and learning approach in international educational settings. A commonly cited advantage is to do self-study at home and to spend valuable classroom time on meaningful interactive learning activities. After the start of Covid-19 pandemic, the sudden transition to online teaching required many institutions to adopt a flipped learning approach. The current study was conducted at one of such institutions, namely Dhofar University in Oman. The aim of this paper is to identify the challenges met by both teachers and students using flipped learning during this transition as well as the solutions they developed to cope with them.   Methodology: This study implemented a mixed methods design for which the data were collected from two questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. One questionnaire was for teachers with 14 responses while the other was for students and could obtain responses from 68 students from the target population. From the list of teacher respondents, 10 were interviewed for deeper discussion of flipped learning context. The Questionnaires results were statistically calculated and descriptively analysed, whereas the interviews were thematically scrutinized.   Findings: The researchers found several major challenges including increased workload, lack of training, resistance to change, lacking IT skills, technical issues, non-completion of homework tasks and non-participation in live sessions. Teachers' resilience in the face of these challenges was noteworthy; especially in the form of peer support groups. The suggestions made by the teaching faculty for solutions are reported and discussed in the relevant sections of the article with reference to various research studies from different contexts.   Contributions: Despite the small scale and the specific context of the study, the results and discussion provide useful food for thought to educational practitioners and decision makers in wider international contexts when it comes to flipped learning challenges and coping mechanisms.    Keywords: Flipped learning, ELT, challenges, solutions, higher education.   Cite as: Eissa, A., Yapar, O., & Abugohar, M. (2023). Flipped learning in ELT: Experiences from Oman. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 8(2), 180-200. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol8iss2pp180-20

Adult Educator Views On Impact And Learner Fit In Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-Dea) Classrooms

The Integrated Digital English Acceleration (I-DEA) teaching method uses a Flipped Classroom (FC) design to fast-track the English Language Acquisition (ELA) and digital literacy skills development of adults enrolled at Community and Technical Colleges (CTCs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in the United States. I-DEA projects and programs are in various stages of implementation throughout the U.S., but few accounts of the method’s impact on teaching and learning and fit for adult English language learners (ELLs) have been published. I-DEA is a “flipped” (blended) instructional delivery method for Adult Basic Education (ABE). Evaluation of its impact and fit contributes to the literature on Flipped Classrooms, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), and Integrated Education and Training (IET). To evaluate the I-DEA method’s impact and fit, an online questionnaire was administered to current and former I-DEA instructors in the United States. Respondents (n=8) provided Likert scale ratings of agreement or disagreement, along with written responses to explain their rating selections. Instructors overwhelmingly agreed that the I-DEA method’s FC design has helped students acquire English at a faster pace than they would in non-I-DEA classes. Support for the method’s learner fit was not as robust: Fifty percent of the sample group voiced concerns about the linguistic complexity of its lessons for beginners (NRS 1 & 2). The results of this small-scale, mixed-methods study provide evidence to support claims about the I-DEA method’s impact, while raising new questions about its fit for adult ELL beginners. Our findings suggest that the Flipped Classroom may be most impactful and suitable for English learners in High Beginner (NRS 3) classrooms. Modifications to IDEA lessons are recommended for classrooms with NRS 1 and 2 level students. Further study, including action research in I-DEA classrooms, is recommended

Blended Learning Approach of the Flipped Model for Partograph Short Course

Crucial demand of professional and well-trained midwives, midwifery lecturers, general practitioner, and OBGYN in Indonesia could be fulfilled by providing effective learning process to them. Udayana University through its Distance Learning Centre has offered Partograph short course in order to respond the demand. The short course has implemented blended learning approach of the flipped classroom with International collaboration. The course was joint by participants from 11 countries through video conference. The course was well designed, conducted follow Global Development Learning Network standard, and then it was evaluated. The course yielded high impact to the participants which could be seen from the participants' feedback. They testified that the course was marvelous, effective and informative. Finally the evaluation results showed that all components of the learning process have significant result to the overall learning quality which was shown by their correlation coefficients

Influence of Flipped Classroom on Learner's Empowerment -A study based on English Writing Courses in China

Flipped classroom has been claimed as an effective solution to many problems existing in traditional teaching like increasing engagement and triggering positive learning attitude. However, the influence of flipped classroom on student learner's empowerment remains unidentified, though empowerment is believed to be a significant indicator of active learning. This study aimed to probe into the relationship between flipped classroom and student perception of empowerment in English writing courses in China. After one semester's experiment, the data analysis revealed that there is significant difference between experiment class and control class over empowerment. It can be tentatively concluded that flipped classroom can promote more learner perception of empowerment than traditional classroom. Keywords: Flipped classroom; Learner empowerment; English writin